the crumblies Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Does anyone have any experience with aftermarket rear bars, which may or may not be used to mount a towball? I had PWS Engineering of Poole ( http://www.pwsacc.co.uk/) fit a nice neat steel tube bar & towball to the Nuevo, I think it was three years ago. It's very useful to fill up the 750kg un-braked trailer with garden rubbish and take it to the local tip (who are happy for me to drive the Nuevo in, but they refuse anything that looks like a commercial vehicle...). PWS were very good at the time, they let me watch the whole fitting process and adjusted the length of the bar to just less than the overall width of the van. I asked what the white finish was, and was told it was powder coating, would last "for years". I pointed out that the steel davits on my cruiser were also powder coated, they only lasted two years before they had to be stripped, shot-blasted and re-coated. "No, the modern coating is much better, and any way your van isn't exposed to seawater." Well, I took them at their word (caveat emptor!) and sure enough it started to rust after two years, and now it is so bad that it will have to be removed and fixed, but this time I'll use white smooth Hammerite, the best treatment I have ever found for rust-prone steel. I emailed PWS through their web site, but they didn't bother to reply, so I guess I'm on my own here. I'm not unduly perturbed, but I thought I would flag it up to prospective buyers. One other thought, I was under the impression that all towbars nowadays had to be marked with their weight capacity. or does it not apply to sub-750kg use? There's no plate on the PWS bar. Best wishes and have a good season! Oh. I do have a photo (it looks dreadful) but I can't remember how to attach it. Dohhhh! PM me if you'd like to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Towtal plate all their bars with load and noseweight values. Which I presume yours should also have. Powder coating is crap if not applied properly, as water can creep into any damage and spread under the coating and happily rust away the metal without anything being seen. Use heat to remove it and prime it before repainting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Must admit i've never heard or seen powder coated towbars. What's all that about? The one on my van is like "dirt" in colour......but then it's a towbar. It's rock solid, no rust, not pretty.....but works. I used to have a powder coated bull bar on my old van, but that was supposed to look pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Hi, when we had our towbar and scooter rack made we had it galvanised, you do have to drill a few small holes here and there for the galvanising to get into the insides of tube or box sections if they are sealed, which is better than powder coating, painting, etc, as no protection on the inside and a lot of them rust from the inside out. we have had both and would always go with the galvanised way, it looks a bit bright when new but soon mellows, if you are at the stage of removing it anyway, then think about this option, look up your nearest galvanisers and they will advise you exactly what to do, once done you can forget it. snail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suntrecker1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 snail - 2014-04-16 6:29 AM Hi, when we had our towbar and scooter rack made we had it galvanised, you do have to drill a few small holes here and there for the galvanising to get into the insides of tube or box sections if they are sealed, which is better than powder coating, painting, etc, as no protection on the inside and a lot of them rust from the inside out. we have had both and would always go with the galvanised way, it looks a bit bright when new but soon mellows, if you are at the stage of removing it anyway, then think about this option, look up your nearest galvanisers and they will advise you exactly what to do, once done you can forget it. snail This is what we did with our old motorhome tow bar, had it dipped stripped, regalvanised, and power coated. I poured hot Waxol inside to give some protection but this would leak out on a hot day past the end plastic caps. I thought it a good idea but a mess on the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the crumblies Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 Peter: many thanks. I wasn't going to use heat for stripping, as I thought it would make a nasty sticky smelly mess. Sanding off with an angle grinder was my plan, but I'll try a torch and see how it goes. Bulletguy: I'm sure you have seen them (or are you just an armchair 'vanner??) I'm talking about the white steel bar, bolted to the chassis and fitted across the back of a coach-built, which is designed to protect the thin and vulnerable fibreglass rear skirt/valance. They can, and often are, fitted with a towball which can then be used for a Thule-type bike/scooter/wheelchair carrier, much better than bolting through the rear panel. Oh, the brown colour of your tow bar is probably superficial rust.... ;-) Snail and suntrekker1 - really appreciate your comments, thanks. I did actually ask the supplier about galvanising, the response was that they either powder-coat or galvanise, the latter for a hefty premium and a two week delay. With hindsight, of course I should have had it galvanised, especially in view of my previous experience. I'm just a pushover for a good sales story, I guess. So, it's out with the big spanners (It's been a long time), the blowtorch and the angle grinder. I hope the neighbours are away for Easter! Thanks again to all who responded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granddad Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 hi grind it its a lot better thats what i done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeti Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I have seen these bars fitted to couriers vans to protect the body,especially when reversing onto a loading bay. Even the slightest knock can break the coating and allow the ingress of water. Some people can be quite gullible when a salesman recommends things,especially tow bars,its asking for trouble to have such an item powder coated. My own tow bar had suffered minor knocks hitching up and only gentle taps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 granddad - 2014-04-16 10:47 PM hi grind it its a lot better thats what i done Don't grind it unless you wear a face mask. Grinding will make a right mess anyway, with loads of dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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